Trolley-pole.



No. 777,304.. PATENTED DEC. 13, 1904-.` A. L. PRBNTISS.

TROLLEY POLE.

APPLIUATION IPILED FEB. ze. 1904.

No MODEL. zsHEzTs-sHBET 1.

No. 777,304. n PATENTED DEC. 13, 1904.

A. L. PRENTISS,

TROLLEY POLE APPLICATION FILED maza. 1904.

No MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

i y jy Jn-nega.

UNITED STATES Patented December 13, 1904.

ANDREl/V L. PRENTISS, OF BUFFALO, NEV YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,304, dated December 13, 1904. Application filed February 23, 1904. Serial No. 194,736. (No model.)

To utf/Z when@ it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW L. PRnN'rIss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Poles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to trolley-poles for railways employing' overhead conductors, and particularly to poles of the class which automatically drop to an inoperative position below the conductor and its cross-wires or other supports when the trolley accidentally leaves the conductor, thus preventing' injury to the pole and the condactor-supports.

'Ihe object of my invention is to provide a pole of this kind which in the event of thc trolley rnnningofll the conductor is promptly and reliably disconnected from the spring or tension device which holds the trolley against the conductor and which can readily be reeng'ag'ed with the tension device for restoring the pole to its operative condition.

In the accompanying' drawings, consisting; of two sheets, Figure l is a sectional elevation of a trolley-pole and its base embodying' my invention, showing the pole in its normal position. Fig. Q is a top plan view of the parts. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. l, showing' the pole depressed for restoring the tension of the spring. Fig'. i is a sectional elevation of the parts, showing their position immediately after the pole has dropped. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section in line 6 6, Fig. 2. Fig'. 6 is a horizontal section in line 3 3, Fig'. l.

Similailetters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

A indicates the roof of an electric car, and B the usual swiveling' base on which the trolley-pole C is mounted, the pivot on which this base turns being shown by dotted lines at I).

The trolley-pole consists of two parts or sections, the upper one, c, of which carries the trolley c and is hinged. to the lower section by a transverse pivot c, so to permit the upper section to swing' vertically on the lower` section. This lower section is secured to a hub or disk l), which is free to turn on a horizontal shaft d, supported in upright side plates or standardsv d", rising from the base B. I'n the construction shown in the drawings the disk l) is provided at its rear edg'e with a socket d, in which the pole is clamped.

E is a tension disk or member arranged on one side of the hub-disk D and journaled loosely on the shaft nl, the hub-disk being preferably provided with a laterally-extending marginal flange e, which incloses the greater portion of the tension-disk.

F is a tension-spring' connecting' the tension-disk with the trolley-base and tendingl constantly to turn said disk in a forward direction. In the preferred construction illustrated in the drawings this spring' is secured at its rear end to a rod g, pivoted to the outer side of the tension-disk, and at its opposite end to a rod y, which is pivotally attached to the front ends of a pair of arms or brackets G,extending' forwardly from the side plates d The front rod g extends some distance into the tension-spring to forni a stop for limiting' the forward movementof the'rod g when the spring' is relaxed, as'hereinafter explained, a buii'er g2, of rubber or other suitable material, being' preferably applied to the rearend of the stop-rod g.

The hub 1li) of the trolley-pole is normally connected with the tension-disk E by a clutch of any suitable construction, so as to place thc pole under the influence of the tension-spring' F and cause the trolley to be pressed against the under side of the conductor H like the o1'- dinary pole in common use. AI, prefer to cmploy for this purpose a clutch-band I, encircling the periphery of the tension-diskfl and secured at one end to the marginal flange of the hub-disk, as shown at The i pposite end of the band is connected with the short arm of an elbow-lever s, pivoted to said hubdisk,'the other arm of this lever being connected by a rod with an upwardly-exteiuling' arm Z, arranged at the inner end of the hinged pole-section e. The pressure of the trolley against the conductor tends to straighten or swing the hinged upper section of the trolley-pole downwardly on its lower section, and this causes the clutch-lever to be swung' in the proper direction to tighten the clutchband upon the tension-disk E, thus coupling IOO Jley remains in engagement with the conducto engage with the teeth a', is pivot'ed to the adjacent bracket G of the base B and provided with an upwardly-extending arm p, having an antifriction-roller p', which is normally located in close proximity to the under side of a retaining-rib q, arranged on the outer side of the tension-disk E. The detent is held in this position by a spring fr, attached at one end to the pawl and at its other end to the adjacent side plate of the base B, as best shown in Fig. 5. The rib q is provided at its front end with a downwardly-curved bill or cam q', which extends below the general plane of the rib, so that when by the release of the trolley-pole the diskE is allowed to turn forwardly beyond its normal range of oscillation this cam rides over the roller of the detent, thus depressing the latter and straining the spring o". As soon as the point ofthe cam clears the roller p the spring r by its reaction raises the detent sufhciently to bring its roller above the point of the cam, as shown in Fig. 4. Upon now turning the disk E backward for restoring the tension of the spring F, as hereinbefore described, the cam causes the roller to mount the rib q, drawing the detent into engagement with the teeth of the disk, as shown in Fig. 3. By this inward movement of the detent the spring r is compressed, and as soon as the tail end of the cam-rib q clears the roller of the detent the spring throws the detent out of engagement with the teeth of the disk E, thus returning the roller to its normal position on the under side of the cam-rib. This rib is so arranged and made of such a length that it holds the detent in positive engagement with the toothed disk E until the latter has been turned the requisite distance to properly tension the spring F. In order to determine this distance, the disk E l may be provided on its outer side with a stoppin s, adapted to strike the adjacent side plate of the base B, as shown.

As the cam-rib q positively holds the detent in engagement with the toothed disk E, the front portion of the detent, which carries its nose or shoulder, 1s constructed in the form of a spring or spring-tongue to permit said nose to yield d uring the intermittent rearward rotation of the disk produced by vibrating' the trolley-pole.

It will be understood from the foregoing that in the normal retracted position of the detent the spring r is neutral-that is, neither strained nor compressed-and that it is strained while the cam of the retaining-rib g rides over the detent-roller and is compressed so long as said roller bears against the upper side of the rib.

Tis the usual cord attached to the upper end of the trolley-pole and hanging within reach from the car-platform. This cord is the hub-disk to the tension-disk and compelling these members to turn forward together under the action of the tension-spring practically as a single member so long as the troltor. Should the trolley accidentally run olf 1 the conductonthe upper pole-section o will swing upward relatively to the lower section, l allowing the clutch-band to loosen and unl coupling the hub-disk D from the tensiondisk E. As the hub-disk is now free to turn j rearwardly on its shaft d, the pole drops to a j position in which it clears the cross-wires or other supports of the conductor, as shown in Fig. 4 and by dotted lines in Fig. l, preventing injury to the pole and the conductor-supports. l

Any suitable means may be employed for l limiting the downward movement of the trolley-pole; but a cushioning-spring M, mounted on the base Bin rear of the disks D and E, is preferably used for this purpose, as shown in the drawings.

The disconnection of the trolley hub or disk D from the tension-disk E permits the tension-spring F to become relaxed, and in order l to again place the same under tension for raising the pole to its operative position a suitable tension-restoring device must be provided. The preferred restoring mechanism shown in the drawings consists of an actuating pawl or lever n', mounted on the lower section of the trolley-pole and adapted to engage with a series of ratchet-teeth a', arranged on the pej riphery of the tension-disk E. This pawl is l normally retracted out of engagement with said teeth by a spring a2, but can be projected into the path of the teeth by means of a cord o, attached to the upper arm of the pawl and passing rearwardly and downwardly over a guide-pulley o', arranged on the under side of the main pole-section C, the cord hanging within convenient reach from the car-platform. Upon pulling this cord the actuatingl pawl a is irst swung into its operative position, and upon then lowering the trolley-pole by a further pull on the cord, as shown in Fig. 3, the pawl is caused to engage with the teeth of the tension-disk E and turn the latter rearwardly, thus stretching or tensioning the spring F. This depressing movement of the pole causes the cushioning-spring M to be compressed,and upon releasing the pole said spring returns the pole to the dotted position shown in Fig. l. This swinging movement of the pole is repeated until the spring F is properly tensioned. The spring M thus serves both as a cushion for the pole when the same drops to its inoperative position and as a return device for effecting the upward stroke of the pole when the latter is used to restore the tension of the spring F.

P is a pawl or detent for preventing retroused for lowering the pole by hand in reversing it at either terminus of the railwayline and also for pulling the hinged outer grade movement of the disk E in tensioning' the spring F. This detent, which is adapted IOO IIO

armoe section of the trolley-pole downwardly relatively to the main section for tightening' the clutch-band through the medium of the rod 7c and clutch-lever in recoupling the pole to the tension-disk E and restoring the same to its operative position.

The operation of the pole is as follows: When the trolley is in engagement with the conductor H, the several parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the hub D or' the pole being clutched to the tension-disk E and the spring Fbeing under tension and tendingl to hold the trolley-pole against the conductor. When the trolley runs oil' the conductor, the clutch-band Iis loosened, permitting the pole to drop upon the cushion M and allowingl the tension-sping F to contract to its unstrained condition. The backward rotation ol' the disk E, effected by this action of the spring, causes the cam q of the rib g to ride over the roller of the detent P and then engage under the Y same, as hereinbefore described and as shown in Fig. 4L. To elevate and restore the trolleypole, the car conductorliiulls the cord o for swingingl the nactuating-pawl a into its operative position and vibrates the trolley-pole by means of this cord for turning the disk E rearwardly and straining the spring F. After turning this disk to the limit ot its movement the car conductor seizes the cord l andreleases the cord 0 and allows the pole to swing upward for engaging the trolley with the wire under the action of the spring F, the hub D of the pole having been clutched to the tension-disk E by the tightening of the clutchband l., as hereinbefore described.

lV claim as my inventionn 1. The combination of a trolley-pole having sections or members movable relatively to each other, a tension device, a friction-clutch arranged to couple the pole to said tension device, and a tightening' device for said clutch operated by the relative movement ol said pole-sections, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a trolleypole having an upper section or member movable relatively to its lower portion, a tension member, a clutch-band applied to said member and connected at one end to the lower portion of the trolley-pole, and a tightening' device connected with the other end of said band and operated by the movement of said upper polesection relatively to the lower section, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a trolley-pole having an upper section movable relatively to its lower section, a rotary disk, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch-band applied to said disk and having' one end connected therewith, a tightening-lever connected with the opposite end 'ot' the band, and an operating connection between said lever and the upper section of the trolley-pole, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of a trolley-pole having an upper section movable relatively to its lower section and provided with an actuating'- arm, a rotary disk, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch-band applied to said disk and having' one end connected therewith, a tightening-lever connected with the opposite end oi the band, and a connection between said lever and the actuating-arm of the upper pole-section, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a rotary disk, a spring connected therewith, a trolley-pole having an upper section movable relatively to its lower section, said lower section being provided with a hub-disk having' a laterally-extending liange which surrounds said rotary disk, a clutch-band encircling said disk, and a tightening device iior the clutch-band operated by the movement oi the upper pole-section relatively to the lower section, substantially as set forth. t

G. The combination of a trolley-pole having sections or members movable relatively to each other, spring mechanism for holding the pole in its operative position, a clutch for connecting` the pole with said spring' mechanism, controlling means for said clutch operated by the relative movementoi" said pole-sections, and a tension-restoring device for said spring mechanism operated by the vibration of the pole, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination ot' a trolley-pole having sections or members movable relatively to each other, a rotary disk or member, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch for connecting the pole with the disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement oi said pole-sections, and rotating means for said disk operated by vibrating the trolley-pole, substantially as set `i'orth.

8. The combination of a trolley-pole having sections movable relatively to each other, a toothed rotary disk, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch connecting' the trolley-pole with said disk, controlling means lor the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections, and an actuating-pawl carried by the pole and adapted to engage with said toothed disk, substantially as set iorth.

9. The combination oil? a trolley-pole having sections movable relatively to each other, a toothed rotary disk, a spring connectedv with said disk, a clutch connecting' the trolley-pole with said disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections, an actuating-pawl carried by the pole and adapted to engage `with said toothed disk, and means for normally holding said pawl ont ot' engagement with the-disk, substantial] y asset forth.

l0. The combination oi a trolley-pole having sections movable relatively to each other, a toothed rotary disk, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch connecting' the trolley-pole IOO ITO

with said disk, controlling means for the clutch l operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections, an actuating-pawl carried by the pole and adapted to engage with said toothed disk, and an operating-cord connected with said pawl and the trolley-pole, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination of a trolley-pole having sections movable relatively to each other,

a toothed rotary disk, a spring connected with said disk. a clutch connecting the trolley-pole with said disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections, an actuating-pawl carried by the lower section of the pole and adapted to engage with said toothed disk, an operatingcord connected with said pawl. and a second cord connected with the upper section of the pole, substantially as set forth.

12. The combination of a trolley-pole having sections or members movable relatively to each other, a rotary disk or member, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch for connecting the pole with the disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections, rotatingmeans for said disk carried by the trolley-pole and operating to turn said disk when the pole is swung downwardly, and a return device independent of said spring for swinging the pole upwardly, substantially as set forth.

13. The combination of a trolley-pole having sections or members movable relatively to each other, a rotary disk or member, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch for connecting the pole with the disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections, rotating means for said disk operated by vibrating the trolley-pole, and a detent device for said disk, substantially as set forth.

14. rl`he combination of a trolley-pole having sections or members movable relatively to each other, a rotary disk or member, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch for connecting the pole with the disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections, rotating means for said disk operated by vibrating the trolleypole, a detent for said disk, means for normally holding the detent out of engagement l with the disk, and means for moving the detent into engagement with the disk when the pole is disconnected from the latter, substantially as set forth.

15. The combination of a trolley-pole having sections or members movable relatively to each other, a rotary disk or member, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch for connecting the pole with the disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections,rotating means for said disk operated by vibrating the trolby the disk and into engagement with the disk when the pole is disconnectedftherefrom, and a spring operating to hold the detent out of engagement with the disk in the normal position of the latter, substantially as set forth.

16. The combination of a trolley-pole having sections or members movable relatively to each other, a toothed rotary disk or member, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch for connecting the pole with the disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections,rotating means for said disk operated by vibrating the trolley-pole, a yielding detent for the disk having an arm, a retaining-rib carried by said disk and adapted to engage with said arm for holding the detent in engagement with the teeth of the disk, said rib having a cam at one end, and a spring connected with said detent and operating to hold said arm in the path of said cam, substantially as set forth.

17. The combination of a trolley-pole having sections or members movable relatively to each other, a toothed rotary disk or member, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch for connecting the pole with the disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole sections, rotating means for said disk operated by vibrating the trolley-pole, a yielding detent for the disk having an arm carrying a roller, a retainingrib carried by said disk and adapted to engage under said roller, said rib being provided at one end with a cam-face which extends outwardly beyond the plane of-"the rib, and a spring connected with said detent and operating to hold said r'oller adjacent to the outer side of said rib and in the path of said cam, substantially as set forth.

18. rlhe combination of a trolley-pole having sections movable relatively to each other, a toothed rotary disk, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch connecting the trolley-pole with said disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections, an actuating-pawl carried by the pole and adapted to engage with said toothed disk, and a stop arranged to limit the rearward movement of the disk, substantially as set forth.

19. rlhe combination of a base, a trolleypole having sections movable relatively to each other, a rotary disk having a stop for limiting its rearward movement, a spring connected with said disk, a clutch connecting the trolley-pole with said disk, controlling means for the clutch operated by the relative movement of said pole-sections, and an actuating-pawl carried by the pole and adapted to engage with the toothed disk, substantially as set forth.

20. The combination with a base and a trolley-pole, a detent for the disk, a cam carried ley-pole, of a rotary member or disk, a clutch operating to move the detent TOO IIO

connecting the trolleypole with said disk, automatic controllingI means for the clutch operating to release the pole from the disk when the trolley leaves the conductor, rods connected with the base and said disk, respectively, and a spiral spring' attached at its ends to said rods, one of said rods extending into the springl and forming,l a stop for limitingl the contraction of the spring, substantially as set forth. I0

l/Vtness my hand this 20th day ol. February,

ANDREW L. PRENTISS. l/Vitnesscs:

Timo. L. Pori), CARL F. GEYER. 

